TAYLORS, S.C. (WSPA) – A man that nearly drowned over the summer at Lake Greenwood in South Carolina got his happily ever after on Black Friday.

To add to the sweet story, the heroic Highway Patrol Trooper that saved his life stood by the groom’s side as he said “I do.”

Over the summer, for a moment Ronnie Southerland and his wife Pauline believed they might lose each other forever.

“When I was underwater I thought this was it,” Ronnie said. “There wasn’t going to be anything else.”

“I said I would never do this again,” Pauline added. “But after such a scare, you kind of rethink things. God put us together.”

On a boat trip in July, Ronnie went under the water at Lake Greenwood and almost drowned.

Pauline, his girlfriend at the time, watched in horror and tried to help. That was all before they say Trooper Butler Sprouse and his wife came out of nowhere to pull him out. Sprouse was off duty in Greenwood County that day.

“That incident brought us together and now it feels like we are all one big family,” said Sprouse.

As soon as Ronnie recovered, he and Pauline decided it was time to tie the knot. Filled with gratitude, they asked Trooper Sprouse to be a big part of the wedding, to be one of Ronnie’s best men.

“I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for him,” Ronnie explained. “Just happy I am still around to get married!”

Not long after, Skylight Chapel in Taylors saw our 7 News story about the trooper’s heroic actions and decided to host the wedding for free.

“God sent us so many people to us and they are heaven sent,” Pauline added about Skylight Chapel.

From then on, the happy couple says everything else seemed to fall into place.